This post will focus on the process rather than the product. Fellow comic readers, if you’re going to give a non-reader of comics a comic related gift, do not have that be the only gift you give them. One person’s wishlist item is another person’s fruitcake. It’s likely that the ones you care about drop hints intentionally and unintentionally about what they want or like throughout the year. Throwing a comic into something they know they want this holiday season will show that you care about them and that you listen to them.

Of course, knowing what they like can and should fuel whatever comic you get the people in your life. Let’s say you have a relative who is a Steven King or True Blood fan. Well, I sometimes shy away from adaptations like the endless King adaptations of the Dark Tower saga from Marvel or the True Blood graphic novel. Movies, TV, and comics are apples, oranges, and grappefruit, and the mix may not be to a new comics reader’s liking. See what a King fan thinks of the majority of his movie adaptations, and you’ll see what I mean.

On the other hand, what if it’s a completely original work? DC’s American Vampire series comes to mind, but King only wrote one story. But did you know that king’s son, Joe Hill, writes novels and a well-regarded horror serries called Locke & Key? My mom’s getting the first in the series this year. Sometimes, I shy away from getting a title with multiple volumes, but I think this one is worth taking a chance over.